Security News > 2023 > December > FBI: Play ransomware breached 300 victims, including critical orgs
The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the Play ransomware gang has breached roughly 300 organizations worldwide between June 2022 and October 2023, some of them critical infrastructure entities.
"Since June 2022, the Play ransomware group has impacted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure in North America, South America, and Europe," the three government agencies cautioned today.
"As of October 2023, the FBI was aware of approximately 300 affected entities allegedly exploited by the ransomware actors."
The Play ransomware operation surfaced in June 2022, after the first victims reached out for help in BleepingComputer's forums.
In contrast to typical ransomware operations, Play ransomware affiliates opt for email communication as their negotiation channel and will not provide victims a Tor negotiations page link in ransom notes left on compromised systems.
Recent high-profile Play ransomware victims include the City of Oakland in California, car retailer giant Arnold Clark, cloud computing company Rackspace, and the Belgian city of Antwerp.
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